Disney will release a new 'Star Wars' movie every year starting in 2015

Confirming a strategy of aggressive franchise expansion, Disney announced today at CinemaCon that they are planning to release a new Star Wars movie every year, starting with the J.J. Abrams-powered Episode VII in summer 2015. The plan is to release a standalone spinoff the following year — probably one of the projects focusing on Boba Fett or Young Han Solo — and alternate between numerals and spinoffs from there.

Assuming the films are successful, this means the total number of Star Wars films will nearly double by summer 2019. Presumably, Disney is hoping that each of the spinoffs will form their own franchises, much like X-Men and The Avengers.

There’s still no word on who might be working on the non-trilogy spinoffs, which means there’s still hope for the rumored Zack Snyder-Seven Space Samurai spinoff, not to mention the Terrence Malick spinoff about Hutts copulating in a rainforest, which is a rumor I just started.